Quotations
Q. Dear Editor, I am editing a quarterly bulletin for a church, and have run into a problem. “It’s” is confused with “its” in a lengthy article an author quotes in his text. Given your feeling on the overuse of “sic,” I’m wondering how best to handle this. Simply ignore it, or “sic” it? I appreciate your help. Thank you. Answer »
Q. I am currently editing a lengthy manuscript made up almost entirely of quotations made by a dead person to a living person. The living person is what is known as a “channeler.” Since the living person is quoting what the dead person tells her, how do I handle the quotes? The dead person is of such stature that giving the quotes to the living person does not seem right. Any help you can give me is much appreciated. Answer »
Q. In paragraph 13.7, in the section on permissible changes to quotations, CMOS says, “Obvious typographic errors may be corrected silently (without comment or sic) unless the passage quoted is from an older work or a manuscript source where idiosyncrasies of spelling are generally preserved.” Earlier in the passage, CMOS states that direct quotes must reproduce exactly not only the wording but the spelling, capitalization, and internal punctuation of the original. It does not mention italicizing. When I’ve edited quotes or extracts from older texts, I’ve, as a rule, reproduced pretty much “everything” as it is in the older text. I am editing a book now with numerous quotes from seventeenth-century books or letters, referencing ships. Before launching forth, thought I would double check. Seems ship names were not italicized back then. My thought is to leave as they are in the original—as roman. That is, do not italicize ship names in the quotes or extracts. Would this be correct? Answer »
Q. Apparently Americans enclose periods commas inside quotation marks, but do the British do it that way too??? Answer »
Q. When quoting statutory material, is it appropriate to substitute ellipses points in for semicolons that end the “line” of a statutory clause? For instance, suppose a statutory clause reads “(i) Procedures involving animals will avoid or minimize discomfort, distress, and pain to the animals;”, and this is the end of the line (that is, the next line starts with “(ii)”). In this situation, if one quotes the line itself, should one end it with a period, ellipses points, or maybe even a bracketed period? Answer »
Q. The following is a two-part quotation mark question: Is a quotation nested within a separate quotation of double quotes recognized by an additional set of double quotes? Or is the quotation in question enclosed by single quotes? If my question hasn’t confused you, perhaps my example will. The court transcript detailed Jack’s recollection of that fateful day. Jack took the stand and began his testimony. “Your honor, I distinctly remember Jill saying to me, “Jack, I will never climb that hill. Furthermore, what good is a pail of water?”” Please advise. Answer »
Q. A manuscript I am editing uses a lengthy extract from a source that uses brackets; in fact the original is sprinkled with unitalicized bracketed “sics.” What do I do? I don’t want readers to think these interjections are added by us! I could say “brackets in original,” but there are a couple of things we have had to add in brackets, too. Perhaps I should put a [ sic] next to every [sic]. (Just kidding.) Answer »
Q. In the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed., look at the following example from paragraph 6.118: Answer »
Q. I am having a serious debate with a colleague concerning interpolations/alterations to quotations. We are quoting a source that uses abbreviations in the copy: “A WBS displays. . . .” I believe the correct way to provide the missing information to clarify the abbreviation is the following: “A W[ork] B[reakdown] S[tructure] displays. . . .” However, she believes it should read: “A WBS [Work Breakdown Structure] displays. . . .” Can you please clarify which is correct and if interpolations/additions should always come after the item you are trying to clarify. Thank you for your help with this! Answer »
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